Woofa

Don't forget that you can wear "dressy" shorts in the terrace for dinner and I am guessing in the new pizza area by waves for dinner as well. Assuming I eat five nights with pants (four specialty plus MDR) I will most likely be able wear shorts at least three or four nights on a Caribbean cruise. My wife and I each took a full suitcase plus maximum sized carry on bag and a backpack type bag, I think we can reasonably get away without the two carryon sized bags next time and that's all I can reasonably hope for. Now if this were an Alaskan or cold weather cruise...

I basically agree with this. We way over packed for our Riviera cruise in January but then, it our first cruise ever and we figured better safe than sorry. We agreed to bare down quite a bit for our next one. Easier to pack, schlep and unpack/store in the room. We also did laundry on something like day 8. Did not have to but was easier to pack clean clothes going home. Laundry was quick and easy.

While we like sushi here and there we did not sample it onboard. I am not surprised that Terrace is nothing special as part of a buffet but I would have thought Red Ginger would be closer to the real deal. I wonder if there is some reason if they use plain rice? Fyi, I assume most of the supermarket lunch type sushi we get here is also plain. I am not even close to an expert on sushi but generally prefer sashimi.

From what I have read Oceania does a great job compared to other buffets by serving you. We found the servers happy to help but sometimes it took a few moments if they were all helping someone. I was really in no rush but I did see people grabbing. I think this is also a result of learned behavior when at a buffet. Agree completely that adding full wraparound glass would be better to block this out completely. Much healthier for all involved. We don't cruise again for some time but if this is still the same I will remember to mention it when we go.

Thank you for your review. Looks like you really enjoyed it. Hope your family situation turns out ok.

Have a great cruise.

Hello and welcome to the Oceania family. We are newbies as well with our first cruise a few months back on the newly remodeled riviera. Looks like your cruise is port intensive with only one sea day so you should keep busy. We thought boat looked great, service was amazing and for the most part food was very good. Do try all of the dining venues. So many things to talk about and lots of great threads and posters here with info. Let us know what specifically interests you and we are here to help. Do try Baristas for coffee. Do try terrace buffet sitting outside if possible when they have grilled to order steak, lamb chops, x large shrimp, lobster tails etc. Do take a tour of the ships artwork. Do enjoy some time by the pool. Do stop by the library for a book.

Well, I can only give you our experience on Riviera in January they had two nights without the grill in Terrace. Or at least two nights without the main Grill station offering steak, lamb chops, shrimp, lobster tails, etc. These were the special Caribbean themed nights.

I am no expert like some on these threads but I think Oceania knows very well that once they start the slippery slope of affecting "the best cuisine at sea." It will only be a question of time until their regulars stop rebooking. On the other hand, I don't doubt overall prices will continue to rise on all cruise lines as they get more comfortable that cruising is back and we continue to see the longer term affects of covid. While I know not all agree, I think Oceania is doing a good job of keeping its niche. That's not to say everything will always be perfect but as long as they refurbish their ships and keep making new ones, I think they feel confident their model will stay mostly as is and keep their heads above water financially. At least this is what we are hoping as new Oceania cruisers.

Hello Insguy3, Just wanted to throw out a few ideas, we do not disagree that while on a cruise for more than a week it is nice to have some less heavy meals. 1. As far as I know the main dining room has Aquamarine healthy options every night. True they are more limited. 2. While not available every night, terrace has the fresh cooked grill station including multiple proteins and grilled veggies. To be honest, we loved this and felt nights it was not available the buffet was not that special. 3. Don't hesitate to ask your server for small menu changes. Or even larger ones. I can be a little picky and I learned long ago the worst thing they can do is say no. But often the answer is yes if they make it happen. 4. The new pizza restaurant by waves at night had fresh and basically healthy salads and pizzas although limited. Overall, you may be right that quite a bit of what's available is slightly heavy or fatty but I think with a bit of planning and willingness to find what you really want Oceania will try its best to make it happen.

Not knowing how difficult something like this is for the crew doing the shows I also think its a great idea to have more options. Perhaps on sea days specifically when everyone is on the boat all day. Hate to admit when we went in January all we saw was the comedian one night. Not that we did not want to go but things just kept getting in the way. We also tended to eat later as my wife loved going to tea in the afternoons and we felt there was less of a rush after 7:30 or 8:00.

Sorry to come in in the middle but as far as I understand it, a September, 2024 cruise is not eligible anyway. Only thru april, 2024.

I don't know if I would call it a fail. I also tried a few and it was not for me but truth be told, I rarely go beyond chocolate and vanilla. My wife loved the Meyer lemon flavor so much she had two servings. I felt like the quality was good but the flavors did not do much for me. Of course others seem to love it so as long as I could get my daily chocolate shake with a whole banana blended in by the pool I was pretty happy.

Thank you @AMHuntFerry

As much as I hate to enter this conversation... @AMHuntFerry Please clarify your statement in regards to the 40% website listed sales via your TA. While we have only taken one cruise, and that recently, I have been following these boards for quite some time and have no recollection of anyone ever having gotten such deals before. Now, to be clear, lets only start with the cruise only fare listed as that is the only true price, as far as I know, for a cruise. In addition, let's be clear that some TA's normally give out up 5% (maybe closer to 10% under certain circumstances,) and pay for gratuities and sometimes add in additional OBC. To be clear, our TA, whom we had never used before, gave us 5% cash back and free gratuities on first cruise in January and we only booked a B3 cabin with no history or promises of additional cruises. As far as I have read, this is STANDARD if you manage to find an experienced and preferred Oceania TA. In addition, we understand that deals are not standard worldwide and what I get in the US will not necessarily be what someone from England or Australia will get. We also understand that a current Oceania sale of any kind will not necessarily be given at the same cruise price when someone booked a cruise. So, if I booked a cruise at $2500 per person but current cruise price is $2900 person on the website and a sale comes along, I would have to determine if it made sense for me to rebook at current prices (and pay an additional $400 per person,) to then get the sale. Let me know what you think as there is much confusion on these issues but I thought what I listed above was basically correct and all there is. Thank you

Just a few notes on the Spa for newbies. We were just on Riviera for our first cruise last month and when we got on we walked around and asked for a tour of the Spa which they were happy to give. The Spa deck with Therapy pool/hot tub is really the only area where all cruisers cannot go. The showers, saunas, etc. Are available for everyone free of charge. As we were in a B3 we would have had to pay for daily use of the Spa deck but never did so. Most importantly for us we had an extended balcony already for sunny lounging and the Spa deck really does not have much shade. No doubt a little quieter than the main pool but really, nothing is all that noisy on Oceania. Shaded lounge chairs are only available around the pool deck and a few on 13 as well. These were sometimes hard to get but if you could handle the sun, even sea days you could always find sonething.

Ak1004. I think you may have summed it up better than anything I have read on these forums previously. Thank you. And lets all remember that choices are a wonderful thing. We are lucky to have multiple lines available to allow us to pick and choose which best fit our needs, wants, desires and budget.

Thank you for your review. Was on Riviera last month and we agree about the steak. However, Polo was the one place we thought it was superior. Definitely try there next time. I ended up ordering the lamb chops in terrace grill instead of steak and was pretty happy.

We ended up in a window seat in Toscana in the back. It was our first time and it was already dark out. While we liked having a large table for just the two of us, I would prefer another location. You sit facing the window at the start of the window angled downward and out. So between us and the window was a small triangle of space and if we looked upwards, the window became like a mirror showing us the other tables. Just felt odd. Now if it was light, this might be pleasant but in general, we felt the window seats in all the restaurants were wasted at night. Even the beautiful two top in the corner in Jacque you could see nothing but a dark window. Now during the daylight, we loved lunch in a window seat in the MDR. And of course sitting outside in the Terrace in good weather was very pleasant.

We noticed that same thing last month on riviera. Now we only ordered up a few appetizers but it seemed clear this would not be optimum for a meal. We made it work by turning around the desk chair to sit mostly opposite the coach. Of course from what I understand, hot breakfast is fairly new to Oceania in the veranda rooms.

Played last month on Riviera. Showed up at 1:30 on the first sea day at Polo and they had equipment for bridge and Mah-jong. Nobody ran this, we just arrived and sat down with others. Friendly and casual, our group of four ended up playing about 2 1/2 hours then we met again on each of the two remaining sea days. I would consider myself a beginner and the people I played with were friendly, easy going and happy just to play. We enjoyed seeing them throughout our voyage elsewhere on the ship and even ended up having dessert one night in the MDR with one. Our group changed partners each time and we enjoyed playing to the point where we barely even kept score. Of course I am sure other tables were more competitive. These were small groups, maybe three tables each bridge and Mah-jong. I had learned to play in college and gone thirty years until last month.

This is only a guess but wondering if they are thinking better to use the newest ship on the routes more likely to be taken by newer (and younger) Oceania cruises.

Beautiful room. Have a great cruise.

Sorry you will not get to meet Mr. Pepin. That would be a fun food adventure. We were just on Riviera and took one of the culinary classes. I am sure others will chime in if their experiences were different but in our class you had no opportunity to cut yourself since we never had access to a knife. Even the burners were turned off and on by assistants. We did enjoy it but would think hard before spending the money for another. Ours was really not a class for people with decent cooking skills to get right in there and be challenged. Most of the hands on stuff which could have an element of danger was taken out. We also did not find it to be forcefully social as other classes we have taken at places like Sur Le Table or Central Market could be at least prior to covid. However our teacher was great and had been an assistant to Julia Child for many years so we felt it was fun and nice but maybe not having a "wow" factor. Hope others let us know of their experiences and that you have fun.

I brought my Americano fresh from Baristas 20 feet away into the library on Riviera last month. Did not see anything prohibiting it. At least on the Riviera, it is a nice space with comfortable chairs but not overly huge. If people are sitting it makes it difficult, if not impossible to look for books in those sections. Of course I found it empty more than I found it filled. I did not go up when we first got on the ship but I would next cruise. On the last day I saw the return table filled with books that had not been there when I went on the second day. One other note. At least from my experience the library is not filled with best selling fiction or what I would consider resort reading. This is a real library with a variety of subjects. If you are looking for dozens of Grisham, Patterson, etc. Best to bring your own.